ABSTRACT
Ambivalent messages skills are of value, uncertainty about whether the company attempts to facilitate their stay or their exit form an unnerving backdrop to the daily activities of the ageing workforce. Older knowledge worker exist in a milieu that can be described as 'institutional ambivalence'. When market forces favour older workers and governments are campaigning to keep them working longer, ambivalence in organisations appears to be rife. Such ambivalence to ageing workers begins to seep through the organisation affecting prospects for training, promotion and other types of career advancement. Change is a constant feature of organisational life and knowledge-led companies demand the flexibility and quick response required to meet shifting global market demands. Employers then judge older workers in terms of their stereotypical capabilities rather than on their true merit. In addition, negative stereotypes are known to be assimilated into the self-concept of older people and to negatively impact their own confidence in their abilities.
